When stars align
by amal-rukia
Summary: That was how it ended. A ten year worth of conflict and regret, ended with not just a blast, but the rebirth of magic. A Charoix fic taking place right after the missile incident, and a while before the epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I was not supposed to post this now because I already had like, ten other fics, but it's christmas so why not post something! I hope you enjoy this! Let me know what you think and I hope you have a good day/night!**

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That was how it ended.

A ten year worth of conflict and regret, ended with not just a blast, but the rebirth of magic.

Green lights fell down the sky, as if they were meteor showers.

Croix stared in awe, and so did the woman standing next to her. She glanced at her for a moment, and could only wear a somber and regretful expression on her face, as she saw how messed up she looked.

Her hair was all over the place. Her clothes were filled with cuts and dirt. Her arms were covered with bruises and scratches.

Bruises that were her fault…

Her eyes moved to her back, and she wondered what kind of bruise did the fall in her lab create.

...How could she be so stupid?

Why did it take for everything to blow up in her face for her to wake up?

She tried to look away, at anything but her old friend… her sworn enemy… her… whatever she was at the moment.

If she was neither a friend nor an enemy, then what was she?

Unfortunately, her eyes could only settle on her.

She tried to say something, but the words were caught in her throat and she wondered what she could even say to her. She hurt her, she made her go through hell.

So how dare she…

"Are you okay?"

...ask that?

Chariot Du Nord, the person she found herself coming back to despite trying so hard to leave her and any memory of her behind, turned to her in surprise.

"What?" Chariot spoke, and the moment Croix heard her tender soft voice, she regretted every decision in her life that has led her to this moment.

"I asked if… you're okay." She repeated, mentally scolding herself. Of course she had to be dumb enough to ask her after everything she has done to hurt her.

 _Good job Meridies, Idiot of the century._

"I'm fine!" Chariot said right away, leaning forward along as she spoke, before withdrawing herself and taking her hair into both hands, holding it. It seemed like an act out of nervousness. "What about you?"

"What about me?" The lilac haired witch asked in confusion, although she started to feel more tired now.

"The dragon attacked you without holding back earlier." Chariot explained, and looked at her with worry. Something about that gaze was unsettling.

"Why do you care?" Croix said, and felt a pain in her chest when she saw disappointment appearing in those red orbs, as if they had a hope in them that just got crashed. "I almost got you killed back there! I've done you so much harm and you're asking _me_ if I'm okay?"

"You also told me to run away and save myself…"

"That doesn't matter! I got you into this mess!"

"This mess could have been avoided by us both."

"Are you kidding me?!" Croix's voice grew angrier. "I watched you get eaten by that thing! I thought you were dead Chariot!"

"I'm here-"

"No thanks to me!"

"Can you just stop?!" Chariot snapped, and this time, it was Croix's turn to flinch. "All I've wanted was to have you back, and yet all we do is fight and fight and I'm so tired of it!"

"Chariot…" Croix stared at her with wide eyes.

"It's pointless… It's always like this between us." Chariot said, her voice filled with agony, and it only made the guilt in the older woman's heart multiply.

But she couldn't say anything, because in that moment, everything caught up to her.

Croix as a witch, was physically stronger than a normal human. Her body could live longer, and it could take more damage. However, she wasn't strong enough to walk off the damage she received from her creation, and now that there was nothing threatening their lives, the adrenaline wore off, and she was vulnerable.

The redhead somehow noticed the dazed look in those emerald eyes, and she moved towards her, alarmed when she was her stumbling backwards.

Chariot caught her, telling her to stay awake, but every voice was distant to the soon to be unconscious witch.

She just wanted to rest.

But in those few seconds she had left, she raised her hand to cup her old friend's face.

She felt something wet fall on her face, and while her vision was starting to fade, she could see that the other witch was crying.

"Why are you crying for _me_ , idiot?" She chuckled, before losing consciousness.

And that's how Croix ended up grumpily sitting in a bed in the nurse's office. She internally groaned, wishing they would have just left her there in the forest, but no, here she was in the same room as another patient who happened to be _Chariot du Nord_ of all people.

She was starting to think she had some sort of misfortune going on for her.

Perhaps Woodward cursed her as a kid, and made sure she could never catch a break.

" _Curse you Woodward, I'll cut your tree off with a chainsaw someday."_ She thought.

Chariot stood over her bed, with crossed arms. She looked angry, despite the concern she showed the moment the lilac haired witch woke up. She had no idea what exactly it was that she did, but her demeanor changed in an instant.

Was she going to tell her how much of an idiot she has been?

Did she talk in her sleep?

Did she say something stupid?

Did she… let out unpleasant smells while sleeping?

She hoped not.

" _Why are you crying for me, idiot?_ Really?" Chariot started, and the emerald eyed witch looked at her in confusion. "If you _died_ , your last word to me would be 'idiot'. What were you thinking?"

"Really? Of all the things you could be mad about, it's _that_?" Croix rolled her eyes. "Why are you here anyway? Didn't they say you can leave now? You're mostly healed."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Meridies."

"Oh, I _know_." Croix said, and turned away, pulling the blanket over her head. "I'm going to ignore you."

"How mature of you." Chariot groaned, feeling frustrated. "Next time you're about to die, you better think of better last words." She said, before quickly looking back. "Don't actually die though…"

"Yes ma'am, I'll only die when you allow me to." She responded sarcastically, but Chariot smirked.

"I thought you were ignoring me."

"Listen here, you-" Croix shot up from the bed, only to sit back and groan from the pain in her lower back. Chariot looked at her with concern, but the older witch just looked away. "Look, can you just leave me alone? I don't want to talk to anyone."

Chariot looked at her for a moment, then her expression turned into disappointment. She lifted her left hand to hold her arm, as she bit her lip.

"I'm… glad you're here." She said, glancing one last time at her old friend, before walking away.

The redhead left the room, and Croix looked at the door, wishing she would come back. She knew this was for the best, and that she would only snap at her if she stayed for longer, but still…

Croix lied back on the bed, and closed her eyes.

She almost got them both killed, she almost nuked a country because she couldn't keep her stupid inventions in check.

Why would Chariot still try to be near her? She couldn't understand.

She closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep.

Chariot was leaning against the closed door, she gripped her arm tighter.

"Why cry for you?" She muttered, before moving away and continuing to walk. "For such a prodigy you can be so stupid sometimes…"

She ignored the looks that were given to her by the students. She was glad Finneran brought her a professor robe, or else the looks would have been worse considering she previously wore a jumpsuit.

She was still insecure about showing her real identity, so she made her hair blue again the moment she left the room, so that at least the students wouldn't know. They would still question why their professor had some bandages over her though.

They would probably come to the conclusion that she was clumsy and fell down or something.

Her wounds healed much faster because her body was strong, the complete opposite of Croix. While Croix wasn't too weak, and she had the tiniest bit of muscle in her arms (which she has been shamefully staring at, according to the nurse.) her body didn't seem like it would recover at the same speed, especially since some of her ribs were broken because of the dragon.

Out of the new nine witches as Akko called them, only Akko and Diana got the praise of everyone at school since they were the ones getting broadcasted. She was happy that Akko was finally getting the credit she deserved.

Sure, she was causing trouble all the time, but she still did her best.

She especially deserved this after… she took her magic away.

"Professor Ursula?" Chariot's train of thoughts stopped, when she Finneran called out for her. She turned, suddenly feeling nervous now that the woman knew her true identity. "Walk with me." She simply said.

Chariot gulped, and did as told. She kept a fair distance between them, hoping the woman wouldn't strangle her or something. The hallways were emptier than usual. Some students were around, while others were either in their dorms or in town. Everyone was given a few days off after the missile incident.

"So, all this time you've been hiding right beneath our noses." Finneran spoke, and the young professor almost yelped.

"I… I'm sorry." She said.

"It's a good thing you're not dead." The professor simply said, and continued walking.

Chariot looked at her in confusion, before smiling.

The two arrived at Holbrooke's office. The woman smiled warmly.

"It's good to see you, Professor Ursula." She said, gesturing for her to sit. "How are your wounds?"

"They're healing fast." 'Ursula' said. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry to ask this of you while you're still recovering, but we need your help." The headmistress said, and the young professor just gave her a questioning look. "We need you to keep an eye on miss Meridies, until we clean up this mess and finish negotiating with the magic department over her… fate."

"You're… giving her in?"

"It's not like I want to. They have seen the broadcast, and they know that those were our students out there. It won't take them long to find out who's responsible."

"But…!"

"She deserves to be put behind bars." Finneran said. "She might have helped out at the end, but she still put us all in danger."

The sight of Akko falling off the Wagandea tree flashed before her eyes, and her expression became pained.

They only knew about the missile, nothing else.

But should it stay that way?

Should Chariot really hide the truth?

Was she just holding on into a person she thought she knew?

Holbrooke stared at her for a moment, before sighing.

"We'll keep it a secret for now." She said, and both Chariot and Finneran looked at her in disbelief. "They will find out eventually, but until they come here, I won't say a thing."

"That is not a wise decision, headmistress." The brown haired witch stated, while Chariot looked hopeful.

"Until then, we seal away her magic, and she is under your watch." Miranda continued, ignoring the professor's protests. "Is that okay?"

"Yes!" Chariot said right away, before excusing herself.

She rushed back to the room where the lilac haired witch was resting. She barged in, startling the patient.

"CHARIOT FOR THE LOVE OF-" Croix sat up, only to groan in pain again. She put a hand on lower back and glared at the younger witch. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

The blue haired witch stared at her with a smile.

"Tonight, you're sleeping with me."

"..."

"Wait I didn't mean it like-"

Croix simply threw her pillow at her face, and 'gently' asked her to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is dedicated to my close friend.**

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Croix grumpily followed Chariot around, wishing she had her magic so that she could skip all this walking.

Unfortunately, she could never get what she wanted now, could she?

So here she was, trying to survive the death trap that was stairs. The logical part of her was scolding her for neglecting her body, while the petty one was cursing whoever thought that stairs were a good idea.

Chariot turned to her, and chuckled at the woman. She placed her hand on the wall to keep herself steady, and so she could rest for a moment and catch her breath.

"You know, I can carry you to the tower." Chariot suggested, but the lilac haired witch glared at her. "I'm just _suggesting_."

"No thanks." Croix deadpanned, and the redhead just rolled her eyes in amusement, before shrugging and continuing to climb.

Did Croix regret the chance of getting carried and not having to sweat more than this? Yes.

Would her pride allow her to admit it? No.

And so, she decided to suffer just a little longer, because what would her life be without a huge amount of suffering that she inflicted on herself?

"We're almost there!" Chariot called from the distance, and Croix had a feeling that she was too far ahead.

Like she always was…

The witch eventually managed to escape death, and let out a long sigh of relief once her foot stepped into the room.

Chariot stared at the woman, sweating and gasping for air. She raised an eyebrow.

"Croix, it's just stairs."

Croix looked at her with the most hardened look the ex-performer has ever seen, and opened her mouth to say something, only to decide against it, and turn away.

"You weren't this dramatic when we were kids." The redhead muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Chariot smiled, and closed the door behind them. She greeted Alcor, who flew towards her, then towards the older woman, eying her suspiciously. "Don't worry Alcor, she won't harm us."

"Don't give me that look." Croix raised an eyebrow at the bird. "I helped raise you." She said, and the redhead glanced at her.

"Until you decided you wanted neither of us around." She muttered, and Croix's eyes widened, before she frowned and looked down. Chariot glanced at her again, realizing that she heard her, so she cleared her throat and moved towards a bed near her desk. "I don't really have a bed, so I just used magic to turn my couch into one. I can't promise it would be comfortable, but it's all I have."

"Where will you sleep?" Croix raised an eyebrow.

"I convinced professor Finneran to get me a sleeping bag." The redhead said, before moving to make some tea.

The emerald eyed witch felt relief wash over her when she realized they wouldn't have to share a bed.

...That was a horrible thing to think, Meridies.

She cleared her throat.

"I can sleep in the bag. You shouldn't have to sleep on the floor for me." She said, as she looked around, making sure that her eyes wouldn't meet the other witch.

"I'm used to it, besides, you're still recovering."

"I insist."

"Well, you're my guest and I'm not letting you sleep uncomfortable." Chariot said, as she poured the tea for them both. "Or, we could share the bed, if that's what you want." She suggested, a wide grin on her face as she handed the older witch her tea. She noticed how her green eyes went wide, and somehow, Chariot giggled, feeling like they were kids again.

It was like they were best friends again.

Croix silently took the tea, deciding that any answer would lead to teasing that she wouldn't know how to deal with.

The two sat in silence, letting their situation sink in. Chariot's finger kept tapping against the cup, as she seemed deep in thoughts, or perhaps she was nostalgic due to their previous banter.

Croix tried to take a sip, but ended up burning her tongue, a habit that she has never grown out of.

She glanced between her cup, and Chariot, and was starting to become fed up. Usually she would keep herself busy with work, or plans, or anything… but now she was stuck with no magic or tools, and it was driving her insane. If she was going to stay like this for a while, she might as well try to keep her sanity, so she tried to start a conversation.

"You know, out of everything I imagined you would turn out as, a teacher never crossed my mind." She started, snapping the redhead out of her thoughts. She seemed surprised, and it took her a few seconds to say something.

"Really? Then what did you imagine?"

"I don't know, something like being wanted for putting so much magic property on fire?" Croix answered with a smirk, while her old friend pouted.

"That was one time!"

"Five times."

"Okay, so, that was _five times_ , and only five times!" Chariot retorted, but the other witch was still unconvinced, so she just took a sip of her tea and continued to pout.

"I'm sorry." Croix suddenly said, this time not only startling the redhead but Alcor too, as the two just squinted at her, unsure if they heard her right. One thing they knew about the witch was that her pride was too much, so she would rather die than apologize. She avoided their gazes, knowing that her resolve would falter. "It's not that I didn't want you around anymore I just…" She trailed off, her eyes glancing at those red orbs for a moment before looking away.

"You just what?"

"I was just being an idiot." She admitted, feeling both relieved and upset by the confession.

She could have done this in so many different ways. She could have avoided causing all the damages, all the hurt and heartbreak, but she still went down that road.

It was because she was an idiot. There was no better way to word it.

Chariot stared at her for a moment, before smiling.

"It's good to have you back, Croix." She said, and the lilac haired witch was almost blinded by the sincerity of that smile.

"Just because I apologized, doesn't mean you have to forgive me." She sighed, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her. Her smile only grew into a grin. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"But I'm your idiot, right?" Chariot asked, fondly, and the older woman almost choked on her drink.

Was she serious? Was she really talking to her as if nothing happened? As if those past ten years never happened?

"Just… drink your stupid tea…"

When the night fell, Croix made herself comfortable on the bed, or as comfortable as she could. It still felt like a couch more than a bed, but it was better than sleeping on the ground.

She glanced at Chariot, who was in her sleeping bag. She was sleeping peacefully, and Croix had to admit she was cute like that.

She smiled softly, before staring at the ceiling.

The other night she had a nightmare, one that was too real for her liking.

She saw the monster she created swallow the redhead as she pushed her out of the way, and this time, there was no shiny arc to save her.

She would yell and beg, but Chariot wouldn't come back

She was gone because of her, because of her stupid plans and grudge.

She regretted not letting the witch share the bed with her, because she knew that could help her avoid the nightmare.

However, she couldn't bring herself to share it, not with everything she has done. She couldn't stay too near to her.

She didn't even like the idea of sleeping in her tower.

Still, she found herself smiling whenever she looked down at the redhead. She kept remembering old times, simpler times with her, until sleep took over.

She didn't have any nightmares that night.


End file.
